BIOMASS FOR HEAT OR AS TRANSPORTATION FUEL? A COMPARISON BETWEEN TWO MODEL BASED STUDIES
Maria Grahna, et al.
The 14th European Conference and Technology Exhibition on Biomass for Energy, Industry and Climate in Paris, 17-21 October, 2005
Within this comparative, one side concludes it is cost-effective to use biofuels for transportation, whereas the other finds that it is more cost-effective to use most of the biomass to generate heat and process heat, despite the fact that assumptions about the cost of biofuels production is rather similar in the models.
> Read more: http://fy.chalmers.se/~np97magr/Paris/V7II.2_Maria.pdf

EARLESS CORN COULD IMPACT U.S. ETHANOL
E. Kroh
Chicago Daily Herald, November 11, 2007
A University of Illinois scientist has been studying tropical maize for two decades.  Recently, the plant became appealing for more than for its use of nitrogen. Tropical maize stores simple sugars in its stalk rather than growing ears. This sugar is easier to process into ethanol than traditional corn.
> Read more: http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=74780

LIGNOCELLULOSE CONVERSION: AN INTRODUCTION TO CHEMISTRY, PROCESS AND ECONOMICS
J. Lange
Biofpr, September 2007, p. 39
The second generation of biofuels being developed is based on cheaper and more abundant lignocellulosic feedstock.  This article addresses the variety of chemistries and technologies that are being explored to valorize lignocellulosic biomass.
> Contact the ITC library to obtain this article.

OPERATIONAL PROBLEMS IN BIOMASS COMBUSTION
European Biomass Industry Association
Biomass has a number of characteristics that makes it more difficult to handle and combust than fossil fuels. The nature and severity of the operational problems related to biomass depend on the choice of combustion technique.  Currently wood based bio-fuels are the only biomasses that can be co-fired with natural gas; the problems of deposition and corrosion prevent the use of herbaceous biomass. 
> Learn more:http://p9719.typo3server.info/208.0.html

OPTIMIZING LIGNOCELLULOSIC FEEDSTOCK FOR IMPROVED BIOFUEL PRODUCTIVITY AND PROCESSING
K. Han, et al.
Biopfr, October 2007, p. 135
Liquid fuels from lignocellulosic materials, such as wood, offer an attractive alternative to fossil fuel.  This article summarizes recent advances in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating the biochemical and developmental processes of woody biomass production.
> Contact the ITC library to obtain this article.

PRODUCTION OF BIODIESEL: POSSIBILITIES AND CHALLENGES
S. Al-Zuhair
Biofpr, September 2007, p. 57
Biodiesel fuel comes from renewable sources as it is plant-derived.  It is biodegradable and less toxic then conventional diesel.  There are many other advantages to biodiesel, such as reduced levels of particulates. Currently the high cost of biodiesel is the major obstacle to its commercialization.  This article compares conventional processes and enzymatic process and different feedstocks for biodiesel production.
> Contact the ITC library to obtain this article.

REVOLUTIONIZING THE ETHANOL PRODUCTION PROCESS
Khalila Sawyer
Biofuels Canada, Oct/Nov2007
Quebec-based Vaperma Inc., a company specializing in the development and commercialization of advanced gas solutions for the production of fuel ethanol, biodiesel and natural gas, has developed an innovative membrane technology that they believe will revolutionize the biofuels industry.  Vaperma’s hollow fibre polymeric membrane is a made-in-Canada technology that represents a new “dewatering” process for the production of fuel ethanol.
> Read more: http://www.biofuelsmagazine.ca/article.jsp?article_id=23&article_title=Revolutionizing%20the%20Ethanol%20Production%20Process

ALGAE-POWERED MILITARY JETS?
Machine Design, 9/27/07, p. 39
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories hop to product jet propellant fuel from plants, including microalgae.  Researchers are evaluating oil crops that will not compete with food and feed markets, don't use high-quality agricultural land, and demand less energy and water.
> Read more: http://machinedesign.com/ContentItem/70306/Algaepoweredmilitaryjets.aspx

CATALYST COULD REVOLUTIONIZE BIODIESEL PRODUCTION
Machine Design, 9/27/07, p. 40
An Iowa State University professor improves biodiesel production using nanotechnology, making it cheaper, faster, and less toxic. They plan to build a biodiesel pilot plant to test the production technology, which uses vegetable oils or animal fats.
> Read more: http://machinedesign.com/ContentItem/70308/Catalystcouldrevolutionizebiodieselproduction.aspx

COMPARATIVE ECONOMICS OF BIOREFINERIES BASED ON THE BIOCHEMICAL AND THERMOCHEMICAL PLATFORMS
M. Wright, et al.
Biofpr, September 2007, p. 49
A variety of technologies have been proposed for the production of biofuels.  Meaningful economic comparisons require that they be evaluated on the same bases in terms of technology maturity, plant capacity, the energy content of fuel, feedstock costs, method of calculating capital charges, and the year in which the analysis is assumed.  Capital costs and operating cost of grain ethanol, cellulosic ethanol, methanol, hydrogen, and Fischer-Tropsch are compared.
> Contact the ITC library to obtain this article.

MAIZE MALAISE BOOST BIOFUELS FUNDING
M Ouellette
Plant, 10/15/07, p. 23
Despite the debate regarding subsidizing biofuel production and use of corn as a biofuel feedstock, the Government of Canada has announced its NextGen Biofuels fund intended to jumpstart the development and production of biofuels in Canada. The fund will be administered through Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC).
> Read more: http://www.plant.rogers.dgtlpub.com/data/flash/PLANT/9000000621/home.html

POET MAKING CELLULOSIC ETHANOL HAPPEN QUICKLY
Peter Shinn
Brownfield Network, October 10, 2007
Poet of Sioux Falls, South Dakota,  recently received an $80 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to commercialize a cellulosic process at its existing Emmetsberg, Iowa dry grind ethanol plant.
> Read more: http://www.brownfieldnetwork.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=8BA4F829-D5EF-23F3-FD34AEAD55E45C79

CHINA HOLDINGS ANNOUNCES BIOMASS RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT
Renewable Energy Access.com, October 18, 2007
China Holdings, Inc. has signed a development contract for the rights to develop and construct the Biomass Renewable Energy Project, which has a power capacity of 50 megawatts (MW) through its controlled subsidiary 'China Power, Inc.' with the local government in HeBei Province, the People's Republic of China.   The project, which creates energy from straw, has a total expected annual power generating capacity of 400 million kilowatt hours (kWh) and expected annual revenues of approximately 250 million Yuan [US $33.3 million].  The annual production of straw in China is about 650 million tons.
> Read more: http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=50305; and http://biobasednews.com/list2.php?storyid=15140

FARM BILL, FUNDS FOR CLEAN ENERGY, MOVE TO SENATE FLOOR
Craig Rubens
earth2tech, November 5, 2007
The 2007 Farm Bill, having passed in the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry with an overwhelming majority, is expected to move to the Senate floor.  The bill includes $270 million for investment in the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), a program that has already helped implement hundreds of clean energy projects involving energy efficiency, wind, solar, geothermal, and biogas. The bill also stipulates that 15 percent of the $270 million for REAP be put towards “projects that convert animal waste to energy.”
> Read more: http://earth2tech.com/2007/11/05/farm-bill-funds-for-clean-energy-move-to-senate-floor/

NEXTERRA ENERGY CLOSES SALE OF MULTIMILLION DOLLAR BIOMASS GASIFICATION SYSTEM
T-Net News, October 19, 2007,
Nexterra Energy Corp. (www.nexterra.ca) announced today that it has completed the sale of a multimillion biomass gasification system to Dockside Green Power Limited.  The new system will produce building heat and domestic hot water for Dockside Green, a development on Victoria’s inner harbour.  Nexterra’s gasification system converts urban wood waste into synthesis gas or “syngas” to generate heat and hot water from biomass instead of natural gas or grid-purchased electricity.
> Read more: http://www.bctechnology.com/scripts/display_news.cfm?id=25349

ETHANOL INDUSTRY FUELS DEBATE - CRITICS QUESTION BENEFITS, FEAR RISING FOOD PRICES
Larry Kusch
Winnipeg Free Press, October 23, 2007
The booming North American ethanol industry has brought good times to grain growers and created jobs on the Prairies. But it's also being blamed for driving up food prices, squeezing livestock producers' profits and even limiting efforts to feed the world's hungry.  While corn-based ethanol production has done little to satisfy America's thirst for energy, it's helped fuel the biggest rise in U.S. food prices in more than 15 years.  Over the next year, food inflation in the U.S. will be running well over five per cent; Canadians can expect their food prices to be squeezed as well since the United States "is a major, major corn exporter to the rest of the world."
> Contact the ITC library to obtain this article.

THINKING CLEARLY ABOUT BIOFUELS: ENDING THE IRRELEVANT 'NET ENERGY' DEBATE AND DEVELOPING BETTER PERFORMANCE METRICS FOR ALTERNATIVE FUELS
B. Dale
Biofpr, September 2007, p. 14
The author states that, while net energy is simple and appealing, it is "dead wrong and dangerously misleading."  Two complementary metrics for comparison are suggested: ability to displace petroleum; and, total greenhouse gases produced.
> Contact the ITC library to obtain this article.

ENERGY FROM WOOD BIOMASS COMBUSTION IN RURAL ALBERTA APPLICATIONS
H. Welling, et al.
Kelwa Biogenics, [2006]
The object of this report is to demonstrate and assess the economic and environmental potential of various options for wood-based bio-energy in comparison to conventional fossil fuel energy sources in rural, commercial, institutional, and industrial facilities in Alberta. The report shall assist wood energy stakeholders in establishing and optimizing the contribution of wood-biomass energy in renewable energy targets central to sustainable woodlot management, forestry, waste-wood management, and rural, economic development objectives.
> Read more: http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/apa11648/$file/alberta_wood_biomass_report.pdf?OpenElement

4TH ANNUAL CANADIAN RENEWABLE FUELS SUMMIT: Building on the Promise
December 2-4, 2007
Quebec City, Canada
>Details: http://www.crfs2007.com/

2ND ANNUAL MIDWST AG ENERGY NETWORK SUMMIT: NEXT GENERATION AG ENERGY: POLICIES TO ADVANCE REGIONAL GROWTH
February 5-6, 2008
Madison, WI
>Details: http://www.midwestagenergy.net/index.html

GROWING THE MARGINS: ENERGY, BIOPRODUCTS AND BYPRODUCTS FOR FARM AND FOOD SECTORS
April 2-5, 2008
London, Ontario
>Details: http://www.gtmconf.ca/welcome.htm

INTERNATIONAL BIOMASS '08 CONFERENCE & TRADE SHOW: POWER, FUELS, AND CHEMICALS
April 15-17, 2008
Minneapolis, MN
>Details: http://www.biomassconference.com/speaker.aspx

WASHINGTON INTERNATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY CONFERENCE 2008
March 4-6, 2008
Washington, DC
>Details: http://www.wirec2008.gov/

WORLD BIOENERGY CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 2008
May 27-29, 2008
JÖNKÖPING, SWEDEN
>Details: http://www.elmia.se/worldbioenergy/

THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL BIOENERGY CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION
June 3-5, 2008, Prince George, BC
Details: http://www.bioenergyconference.org/index.php